Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah has been drafted into England’s World Cup squad following a calf injury that forced Newcastle full-back Tino Livramento out of the tournament.
Injury Strikes Days Before Opener
Livramento, 23, picked up the injury during training on June 14, with a scan and medical assessment the following day confirming he would be unable to feature at the World Cup. FIFA permits squads to make late changes to their 26-man rosters up to 24 hours before a team’s opening group match in the case of significant injuries, and England moved quickly to activate that provision with their tournament opener against Croatia in Group L set for Wednesday, June 17.
According to England’s Football Association, Chalobah will travel directly to the team’s base camp in Kansas City, while the rest of the squad heads to Dallas ahead of the Croatia clash.
Livramento’s tournament involvement had looked shaky even before this latest setback. He missed the final five weeks of the domestic season with a thigh issue, capping an injury-hit campaign in which he made just 17 Premier League appearances for Newcastle. Two separate knee injuries sidelined him for two months, before a January hamstring problem kept him out for a further 15 matches.
Spence To Play At The World Cup With Protective Mask
The right-back earned his first England cap under Gareth Southgate in November 2024 and has since added five more appearances under current manager Thomas Tuchel, including two starts.
With Livramento out, Djed Spence and Ezri Konsa remain among Tuchel’s other defensive options. Spence, comfortable on either flank, has made six appearances under the German coach, while Konsa, primarily a centre-back, has racked up 11 caps, nine of them starts.
As for Chalobah, the call-up marks a return to the fold after a quiet international stretch. He last featured for England in a friendly against Senegal in June 2025, though he has remained on Tuchel’s radar, earning bench spots in several World Cup qualifiers since.